Who is Jesus asking His Father to forgive? His enemies—the ones who had just rejected Him, condemned Him, spit on Him, cursed Him, abused Him, and nailed Him to a tree. Why on earth would He be asking God to forgive them at a time like this unless, #1: He genuinely desired it, and #2: He intended for His request to be granted? He wouldn’t possibly be asking forgiveness or showing love to people He was planning to condemn to hell forever. He wouldn’t have even bothered asking His Father to forgive them if they were hopelessly damned.
